The politics of the United Kingdom functions within a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch,currently King Charles III,serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,currently Rishi Sunak since 2022,serves as the elected head of government.
David Martin Scott Steel,Baron Steel of Aikwood,is a retired Scottish politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh,Selkirk,and Peebles,followed by Tweeddale,Ettrick,and Lauderdale,he served as the final leader of the Liberal Party,from 1976 to 1988. His tenure spanned the duration of the alliance with the Social Democratic Party,which began in 1981 and concluded with the formation of the Liberal Democrats in 1988.
The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom,of which Scotland is a country. Scotland is a democracy,being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government,led by the First Minister of Scotland,the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland,dealing with Scots law,is independent of the legislature and the Scottish Government. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares some executive powers with the Scotland Office,a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
John Archibald Sinclair,3rd Viscount Thurso,,known also as John Thurso,is a Scottish businessman,Liberal Democrat politician and hereditary peer who is notable for having served in the House of Lords both before and after a period in the House of Commons.
Alan James Beith,Baron Beith,is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented Berwick-upon-Tweed as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2015.
Malcolm Gray Bruce,Baron Bruce of Bennachie,is a British Liberal Democrat politician.
Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom,with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP,its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland,Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK,and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England,Scotland,Northern Ireland,the Isle of Man,Jersey,Guernsey,Alderney,and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws,though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.
Matthew Owen John Taylor,Baron Taylor of Goss Moor is a British politician who has been a life peer in the House of Lords since 2010. A member of the Liberal Democrats,he previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro and St Austell in Cornwall from 1987 until he stood down at the 2010 general election. He was granted a life peerage and so became a member of the House of Lords on 16 July 2010.
Paul Archer Tyler,Baron Tyler,is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from February to October 1974 and from 1992 to 2005,and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer until October 2021.
Jack Wilson McConnell,Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale,is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister for Finance from 1999 to 2000 and Minister for Education,Europe and External Affairs from 2000 to 2001. He has been a Labour life peer in the House of Lords since 2010 and previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.
Michael Goodall Watson,Baron Watson of Invergowrie,is a British Labour Party politician. He has served in two legislatures in the United Kingdom and served as Minister for Culture and Sport in the Scottish Executive Cabinet.
James Robert Wallace,Baron Wallace of Tankerness,is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005,and during that time he served twice as acting First Minister,in 2000,in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001,following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016.
Christine Grahame is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Midlothian South,Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency since 2011,having previously represented the South of Scotland region from 1999 to 2011.
Keith William Twort Raffan is a former British politician. From 1983 to 1992,he served in the British House of Commons as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the Delyn constituency in Wales. Then from 1999 to 2005,he was a Scottish Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region.
James Hume Walter Miéville Stone is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician,representing the constituency of Caithness,Sutherland and Easter Ross,since 2017.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019,and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats,down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Nicol Ross Stephen,Baron Stephen is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats,he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeen South from 1999 to 2011,and was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008.
William Cowan Rennie is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Fife since 2016,and previously as a list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline and West Fife.
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones,Baron Clement-Jones,is a Liberal Democrat peer and spokesman for the digital economy in the House of Lords.
Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Western constituency since 2016.
